Her Own Personal Mechanic
by everyoneisMISunderstood
Summary: When Clare has a bit of a mishap while driving her mom's car, the result is her getting grounded until she gets the car fixed. And she won't go to Eli for help. Why? Her pride won't let her confess to him she crashed into a pole. Eclare. Oneshot


**(A/N) This was loosely based on this one time when I was in the car with my mom and she smashed into my dad's car in the driveway by mistake… more info (relating to the story) in the bottom note.**

**So we're just going to pretend that they made no progress in their relationship for the remainder of the school year after My Body Is a Cage, or that this is AU :)  
**

Clare was glancing from side to side, something Eli noticed she always did when she was anxious, or worried. And seeing as today was 'The Big Day' as he was jokingly calling it, he guessed she was feeling both. "Nervous?"

Clare glared at him. She'd told him over and over to stop mentioning it, but did he listen? No. Of course he didn't. Just because they were friends didn't mean he'd ever cut her some slack, apparently. When his simper turned into a grin as he noted that she looked horribly cute when she tried to appear scary, she sighed. "I guess. But you don't have to remind me!"

"C'mon, Clare. If I can pass the driver's test, so can you."

She grinned at him, suddenly calmer as she playfully jabbed, "That's true, since I'm better than you in every possible way."

Eli snorted. "I wouldn't get too cocky there."

There was a momentary breach in conversation when Eli hesitantly asked, "You will be careful though… right?"

The childish smile was wiped off her face as she nodded solemnly. "Yes. And," She said in a lighter, more joking tone in an attempt to ease the mood, "if anything ever happens, I have my own personal mechanic to take care of things."

He shrugged. "Eh, taking care of your car, erm, excuse me, your _mom's_ car isn't really my style." He'd never admit it out loud, but if she asked nicely, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

"Of course it isn't…" She muttered under her breath. She pouted. "But you helped Sav!"

Chuckling, he replied, "Relax, Edwards, I was only kidding."

"So was I."

It was Eli's turn to grin mischievously. He took in her pretty face and drawled, "Riiiight."

* * *

"Oh my god." Her mouth was open, forming a perfect little circle, though really she should have been gaping unattractively seeing as she was utterly stunned. "Oh my _god_." She repeated, since for once, her mother didn't reprimand her.

Her mother was clearly trying to be calm, but failed miserably. She ran a hand through her hair, which would undoubtedly have more gray strands after this lovely experience, and muttered, "Calm down. Just… calm down."

She was out driving home after going grocery shopping, when the catastrophe occurred. Clare wasn't paying attention and was pretty spacey, which resulted in the enormous dent on the side of her mom's car. She groaned.

It was the first time she could bring herself to check the damage, and it was _bad_. It was _really_ bad. So bad it made her flinch away and she couldn't bear to look at her mother's paling face.

She'd promised her mom she'd return the car safely, and her mom just smiled and told her it was fine, she knew Clare was responsible and her car was in good hands. And now…

Clare bit her lower lip and she frantically told her mother, "I am so, so, so sorry!" She was on the verge of squealing an apology, her voice kept climbing higher and higher until her mother started to wince at the noise.

"It's okay," Her mother hissed through her teeth. "Didn't I tell you when going in reverse to drive slowly? You've only had your license for a few days, I totally trusted you, and you wrecked my car the first time you drove it!" The angry woman could see the tears stinging her daughter's eyes as she continued, "Until you can get the car fixed yourself, you're grounded."

As Clare opened her mouth to ask something, her mom snapped, "And that means _no Eli,_ even though _that boy_ is the only person you ever hang out with anymore. I don't care if he's your English partner because I'm sure you can get another one."

She glared daggers at her mom, wondering why she was still calling him _"that boy"_ and the stopped, shaking her head, causing shoulder length curls to bounce around her head. She totally deserved that. Her mom trusted her to be careful, and she wasn't so she should have to pay the price.

Clare had a job working at The Dot. Spinner had quit to get a better career to help sustain him and his new wife, so the popular hang-out needed more staff. And she personally knew Peter, so he hired her on the spot.

Still, it could take months before she had enough money to get the car fixed.

She trudged inside the house, knowing she probably looked like a scolded puppy. She certainly _felt_ like a scolded puppy. Her mom usually didn't get angry, and when she did it was always awful and justified.

The first thing she did when she entered her home was run upstairs to her room. She pulled on Eli's headphones as her mom started relaying the story to her father. She couldn't bear to listen to the tale of her collision with that stupid pole.

Yeah. It wasn't even another car, it was a completely stationary wooden _pole._

She buried her face in a pillow, wondering how long they'd be talking about the incident. Clare didn't move from her curled up position until her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and smiled, seeing the text was from Eli.

She flipped her phone open and read, "You gonna log on to IM or not?"

Clare rolled her eyes and texted back, "Wow, so polite. Charming."

One thing that bothered both of them was the overuse of electronic speak. They didn't understand the point in abbreviating the word 'you' because really, typing out two letters won't make your fingers fall off.

Her phone buzzed again. A single word was on the screen. "Please?"

She crawled off her bed and pulled the headphones off for a second. "A pole, of all things!" She groaned, hearing her dad's amused and angry voice but she didn't pull the noise blocking accessory on again. Clare knew she had to wait until her parents went for a walk to calm down, and then she could run downstairs and access the computer.

And judging by how flustered and mad they sounded, they'd be out for awhile. She hoped.

She stared at the clock, waiting impatiently. They'd been talking about the dent for a good ten minutes. Was that really necessary? It only needed to take thirty seconds to tell the tale, but no, they just had to make everything seem worse than it was. Blowing things out of proportion.

Secretly, she was glad they were angry at her, because that meant they weren't angry at each other. They'd been going to marriage counseling and still fought, but right now they had a common enemy. Their own daughter. She sighed.

Finally, they left the house with a loud _slam_ as the door closed violently behind them. She walked downstairs and noted that the computer was on. She walked over and plunked down in the chair before logging on to Facerange.

_eli-gold49: Took you long enough._

Clare smiled at the monitor, she could practically hear the exact way he'd tell her that in person.

_eli-gold49:_ _Pick you up in ten? Or are you gonna drive?  
_

She grinned for a second, wondering if he was giving her permission to drive his beloved hearse. But then she remembered what she'd done to her mom's car, and frowned. How long would it be before she could see Eli? It was the summer, and school was out, so she wouldn't get to see him at Degrassi.

Not that she should have been so concerned, and not that she should have missed him so much. They were just friends, much to Clare's reluctant dismay.

For just a second, Clare debated going against her mother's wishes. _No, you idiot. She's already mad enough as it is. Maybe you _have_ been spending too much time around Eli..._ Slowly, she started to type her response.

_clare-e23: Can't. Sorry._

She knew the first thing he would do after that would be ask why, so she quickly typed that she had to go and logged off. She sighed, cursing all telephone poles to hell.

* * *

Eli blinked. He hadn't done anything to offend her, had he? She wasn't mad at him a few days ago, but now she seemed distant, like he'd done something wrong.

He clicked over to Adam's profile and sent him a message.

_eli-gold49: Has Clare said anything to you?_

It was awhile before he got a response, and when he did it wasn't one he'd been hoping for.

_a-torres72: No. Why?_

Eli had noticed that Adam and Clare had gotten closer. Just before the bonfire started, Clare confessed that she caught Adam hurting himself, saying it was how he dealt with pain and anger. Ever since then, their friendship had built though Adam initially hadn't liked Clare very much. Of course, Eli and Adam were still closer, but Clare probably would have said something to their mutual friend.

_eli-gold49: I think she's mad at me._

_a-torres72: What'd you do?_

He groaned internally, then remembered he was by himself and groaned out loud. Why did he always assume it was Eli's fault whenever the two occasionally fought?

_eli-gold49: Nothing. Asked if she wanted me to pick her up, said no and left._

_a-torres72: I'm sure it's fine. Drew wants to message Ali. Bye._

Another message popped up, so kindly informing him that Adam logged out, and he frowned. Just to make sure, he glanced over at Clare's name and scowled more deeply as he noticed she was still offline.

Since there was no one on he felt like talking to, he moved the mouse over to the little X in the corner and clicked. He stood up out of his computer chair and decided to pay a certain English partner of his a visit, whether she wanted him to or not.

* * *

When the doorbell rang, Clare glanced out the window, wondering why exactly her parents didn't just enter the house themselves. Then she saw the black clad figure at the door.

_No way, _she thought to herself, observing the familiar vehicle parked in her driveway.

Angrily, she thundered down the steps and opened the door. Immediately, part of her anger webbed as she saw Eli's smirking face and poorly concealed worry (after all, they had been friends for months and she knew him well enough to see through his smug mask).

"What are you doing here?" She hissed at him. "If my parents were home, they'd kill me!"

She was glancing around, looking rather paranoid. Eli sobered up and asked, "And why's that?" He quirked an eyebrow and she glared at him.

"Because," she explained, "I got in trouble."

He widened his eyes in false surprise. "No way. What'd you do, say the Lord's name in vain?"

She tried to doge the question, but she cast her eyes downward, knowing that she was really bad at lying. "Uh, no, I just um..." When she couldn't think of anything, she sighed. "I had... car issues, you could say."

He eyed her warily. "You do know that I could have helped with that, right? Anyway, I still don't get why they're mad."

Her cheeks heated up, and Eli fought back a grin. She wasn't mad anymore, in fact, she appeared to be _embarrassed._ And he would take a blushing Clare over a raging Clare any day. "Well?" He pressed.

"It doesn't matter okay?" She would never, ever admit to him what happened. He'd never let it go. Ever.

This time, he didn't bother trying not to smile. "Sure it does. It's not like you crashed into a pole or anything."

She whipped her head back to him, staring at him incredulously. She tried to figure out if he was joking because he knew, or being serious because he thought she was incapable of being so stupid. Apparently, she took too long to answer because he started to laugh.

"You didn't!" He exclaimed in between chuckles.

For a second, Clare couldn't be aggravated because Eli's laugh wasn't something she got to hear very often. But once she was done marveling at the sound of it, she quickly got annoyed again, though really she was just trying to cover up how utterly mortified she was. She tried not to grumble her response, thinking maybe he was way too amused about the whole situation. "In my defense-"

His laughter got a bit too loud, and she bit off her words and crossed her arms over her chest grumpily. "Are you done yet?" She asked sarcastically when there was a pause in his raucous outburst.

"I think so. What were you saying in your defense?" His tone was lilting, and he almost laughed again at her attempt at a glower.

Oh yeah. He was _definitely_ way too amused about the whole situation. "Just forget it," She muttered.

"Well, Clare, lucky for you, if you really want me to fix your mom's car, I'm cheaper than any other mechanic."

She stared up at him, a bit of amusement and lingering irritation painted on her face, though she really wasn't annoyed anymore than usual. "Yeah, right. You're not _that_ nice."

He lifted a hand to his heart and gasped as high as he could. "Wow, that one really hurt. I'm _not that nice?_ This is even worse than the time when you actually called me _mean._ I think I might even cry. "

"Oh, I'll make you cry," She teased him before going serious again. "But... you really will help me, right?"

He stared at her lower lip which was clenched by her teeth, a dead give away that she was genuinely concerned. ""Sure. Let's take a look at the damage."

The two walked over to the car, and Clare frowned as Eli grinned when he saw the giant dent. "How fast were you going when you drove into the pole?"

"Why do you need to know?"

He didn't answer, but was still smiling. Such an easy fix... but Clare didn't need to know that. "Even though I'm cheaper than any mechanic, it'll cost you."

She sighed. She was already expecting this, I mean, the dent was pretty bad. "Name your price."

"Now, Clare, don't you know there's more to life than money?" He swallowed a bit, dropping the playful note in his voice. "Maybe I want something else."

For a second, Clare was taken aback at his husky tone and she immediately felt her whole body heat up. "Um... well, what do you, ah, want?"

Without warning, he kissed her. He just _kissed _her. Her eyes flew open in shock, and she stared at his impossibly long lashes, though his eyes were closed, hiding those brilliant orbs of green. Slowly, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back, wondering why she deserved this.

When he pulled away, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Clare's confused facial expression. Maybe he could get more out of this than his first kiss with Clare Edwards... "Well, that was a good start. We're also going someplace for dinner, and starting today, I'm calling you my girlfriend. Since, according to Adam, we're already dating."

_Typical,_ Clare thought to herself as she tried to calm her thudding heart. She was dating Eli now?

She _had been _dating Eli?

Was she the only one who didn't know this?

"Oh, and you can't go into cardiac arrest right now," He added wryly, seeing her close her eyes the way she did when she was in danger of fainting. "You can't insult me at all for the next week, but I, am allowed to tease you however much I want.

"I'm allowed to punch KC in the face under the proper circumstances without you getting mad at me like last time.

"You're taking off from work tomorrow and spending your day with me. Don't give me that look, you know Peter won't care."

When she decided he'd completed his list she spoke up. "Wow, anything else you need?" She didn't like the idea of him taking away her witty replies to his comments that would be offensive coming from anyone else.

He rolled his eyes at her tone. "I think that's all." He held out a hand and they shook on it.

Clare climbed into the car, sitting behind the wheel and she asked, "Well? Are you gonna get in the car?"

"Get in the car? Whatever for?"

Warily, she questioned, "Don't we need to drive someplace where we can fix this?"

He grinned at her and said, "Nope!" He motioned for her to exit the car, and she did, having the creeping feeling she didn't like this. "Turn around and count to thirty."

She did, though instead of counting to thirty, she started pondering what he was doing. Was he self-conscious about fixing cars? She immediately dismissed the thought. Eli wasn't self-conscious, and certainly not over something so stupid.

"Turn around."

She complied to his order, and to her surprise, the dent was gone. Her jaw dropped, first in surprise, then anger. "Wait. So you just convinced me to do all that stuff, for a fix that took less than twenty seconds?"

"Thirty, actually."

She glared at him. "I-I don't believe this, you-"

"No insults," He told her, smirking. "We shook on it, remember?"

"You, Elijah Goldsworthy-"

He interrupted. "I consider my full name an insult."

She plowed on as though he didn't even say anything. "You are so lucky I stick by my word. Or handshakes. I will be writing down all sorts of harsh things to say to you after this week."

Normally he would have been at least a tiny bit concerned she was mad, but when he saw she was fighting a smile, he couldn't help but tease her some more.

"Can't wait!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

In a poisonously sweet voice, she said, "Eli, you're the _very best_ boyfriend _ever._"

Even though she was meant to seem joking, a slight shiver went down her spine. He was her boyfriend now, and she knew he'd make a much better one than KC because they were so much more compatible. What more could she ask for?

He seemed to read her mind as he told her rather smugly, "I know."

**(A/N) Whew! That was fun to write, though it's not really my best work :) All of my Eclare fics end up being really long...  
**

**So, being the pessimistic person I am, I just realized something – Eli and Clare are going to break up eventually. I mean, technically, they haven't even gotten together yet, but of course they're not going to stay together forever (this IS Degrassi after all). I just hope that the screenwriters see the huge fanbase for this couple and keep them paired up for awhile.**

**And yes, it is possible for you to just pop out the car dent because that's what my dad did. The scratch is still there, but the dent? It's gone! **

**By the way, I didn't know Adam's account name, so I just made one up.  
**


End file.
